The Disco Armonico - The HandPan Made in Italy

(!) This post may now be out of date - but has been left published for archive purposes. It may still prove to be of interest, but some (or all) details may now be out of date (!).

Built by ‘Marco Della Ratta’, of Toronto, Italy, the Disco Armonico, is a HandPan that has had (and continues to have) a very public development, and evolution. Something that has been incredibly interesting to watch for HandPan enthusiasts - with Marco uploading videos of his progress every step along the way. And while many of the earlier Disco sounded pretty much like what they were, early steps along the path to perfection, to my ear, at the time of writing, the Disco Armonico really has come into its own. With recent Disco sounding very sweet indeed.

Believed to be made from nitrided shells, and with more hours with hammer in hand than I would care to imagine gone into pushing them to their current stage of development, the Disco Armonico has surrounded itself with a rapidly growing fanbase (especially in Italy). And with the last known price being somewhere around the $600 mark*. The Disco Armonico is (at time of writing) one of the most affordable HandPan available to those searching. (*Update! - We're not sure on the current price but we believe that it has now risen considerably to reflect recent improvements over earlier versions).

Points of note:* While Disco Armonico have in the past been shipped by Marco to his customers worldwide, at time of writing, it is believed that (as with some other HandPan) a trip to collect your HandPan in person is required. Something that obviously could add considerably to the cost of acquiring a Disco Armonico, but could make for a memorable adventure.

* If buying a pre-owned Disco Armonico, it’s worth being aware of the fact that there have been many ‘less-developed’ instruments ‘released into the wild’. So always be aware of exactly what it is that you’re buying (although this should also be true of any HandPan purchase).